The Hideout
by FiendFyre1068
Summary: Harry has been sneaking out at night. What has he been doing? Please R/R HPHG FINISHED!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am only saying this once, I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OTHER CHARACTERS. But I wish I did. I would be rich.

This is from multiple POV's…you can usually guess, and if you can't say so in a review……….enjoy REVIEWS ARE ENJOYABLE TOO!

**A Hideout**

_Chapter 1:_

Where does Harry go during these long nighttime stints?

He'll leave the common room very late at night, and I won't see him until the next day.

"Ron, do you know where Harry goes this late at night?" Hermione said.

"No, I've been wondering about that too. I thought you might have known, being as smart as you are," he said.

"I'm just worried, what if he gets caught?" Hermione said.

"He won't get caught, he has the Maurauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak with him," said Ron.

"I think he may be up to no good," Hermione said, "he hasn't been the same since Dumbledore died. He hasn't been keeping up with his work and I don't think he will be able to become an Auror if he keeps this up."

"He hasn't been doing so well in Quidditch either, he's missed some pretty easy catches during practice," Ron said, "I think even Percy could have made some of them."

"Why do you worry so much about Quidditch, its not like it will do you any good later on in life," Hermione said.

"Sure it does, if you go pro, you can make millions of galleons a year, and its great exercise. Have you seen the shape that we're in?" Ron said, "I've never had a six pack before, and it feels great."

"I suppose you're right but if you don't keep up in school, how are you supposed to do something after you can no longer play Quidditch?" Hermione said.

"You'd be rich, why would you need to do anything else?" he said.

"Never mind, you'll never learn, will you?" Hermione asked.

"Why learn when you're as good a keeper as I am?" Ron said with a smirk.

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Hermione decided to follow Harry one night.

A night the he wouldn't be as alert, and maybe doesn't expect anybody else to be either.

That would have to be Monday, his worst day.

"Harry, you were up late." Hermione said.

"I need to take a walk at night, otherwise I feel frustrated and can't concentrate." Harry said.

"How come you never invite either of us on these walks?" Ron said.

"I like to be alone, so I can think," Harry replied.

"How can you possibly expect to get any schoolwork done if you don't buckle down and force yourself to work?" Hermione said.

"I'll find a way to do it, you just worry about yourself," Harry said.

"I can't help but worry about you Harry. Where do you go at night? Why don't you come back until morning?" Hermione said.

"How do you know that I leave at night?" Harry said.

"You aren't the quietest person in the world, mate," Ron said with a grin.

"It's my own business where I go at night," Harry said hotly.

"Whoa! Chill mate, don't get your boxers in a bunch. We're just worried about you," Ron said.

"I'm fine, thanks anyway. Can we talk about something else? I hear that Pansy Parkinson is in the Hospital Wing!" Harry said.

"Yeah, something about a curse that made his nose explode or something. Madame Pomfrey had to grow her a new one! Maybe she won't have an ugly pug nose now. I hear she cried too, oh happy day," Ron said with a smile.

"Ron! Don't say things like that, even if we hate her," Hermione said trying to suppress a grin.

She failed miserably and laughed about it with Ron and Harry.

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It was a hollow laugh for Harry.

'She had it coming to her, talking about her the way she did' he thought to himself.

He didn't want to think about it, and suppressed the thought by washing it down with bacon and ice cold orange juice.

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The next couple of days were normal.

Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions in the morning, Herbology and Transfiguration in the afternoons. Then in the evenings Quidditch practice.

They were training hard for their game against Hufflepuff next week.

"Nice save Ron!" Harry yelled, with a gold 'C' for captain gleamed on his chest, "Now Ginny, let the snitch go."

Ginny flew down and opened the box to release the snitch. Harry gave it a ten second head start, of which he looked around the stadium. He saw a few random Gryffindor supporters, and the Hufflepuff team scouting them out. Harry then saw Hermione bundled up in a blanket and looked away.

He needed to concentrate. But he should be the one in the stands warming her up. He pushed the thought away, there was no time for that now. He needed to concentrate on the snitch.

He looked around for a glint of gold and saw it hovering slightly above one of the hoops on the opposite end of the pitch.

He reared his broom back and sped towards the snitch.

It tried to escape from Harry by going through the post but Harry had foreseen this.

He readied himself to speed through the hoop and catch the snitch when he heard Hermione yell, "GO HARRY!"

Harry felt his insides squirm and for the split second Harry lost his concentration, he lost sight of the snitch.

He stopped and looked around and didn't see it anywhere.

He checked his watch.

It was almost eight and everybody had homework to do.

"Lets call it a night everybody," Harry called to the rest of the team, "Ginny could you grab the snitch for me please?"

Ginny kicked off and had caught the snitch within two minutes.

This made Harry feel even worse.

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AN: Please R/R, this is technically my first real story. My other two suck.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I probably shouldn't have rated this M, I am truthfully just writing as I go along

Disclaimer: I lied, I feel obligated to do this before every chapter. I do not own Harry Potter, or anything to do with it. Other than this story of course, but none of the characters are mine.

AN: I probably shouldn't have rated this M, I am truthfully just writing as I go along. If you are reading this only for the M rating, please don't be disappointed if nothing 'happens'. If anybody wants to give me some ideas, that would be fantastic. Thanks to Irix for my first review. I love when people review, it makes me happy.

Chapter 2:

This was a sacrifice he had to make.

Harry was sitting in the common room, pondering about the Quidditch practice.

'Ginny will have to play seeker until I get my mind straight' Harry thought, sinking inside. Quidditch was the only thing he had at Hogwarts now.

But who would fill in at seeker?

He remembered Dean had a good tryout, maybe he should ask him. Or Demelza Robbins, she wasn't too bad last year.

Harry looked around the common room sulkily, making sure there was no one around.

Harry got up, tiptoes up the stairs quietly, as to not wake anybody up.

He crossed the room to retrieve the Maurauders Map, discovering that it wasn't there.

'I must have left it in my hideout, along with the invisibility cloak,' Harry said with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

How was he supposed to sneak all the way down to the dungeons with Filch and McGonagall looking for students.

He would just have to risk it.

Harry tiptoed back down the stairs, not paying much attention to his surroundings.

He crossed the common room, and pushed open the portrait.

He stepped out into the unknown for the first time since third year.

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Hermione sat awake on her bed, waiting for the clock to hit 11:00.

She would check on Harry every half hour and if he wasn't in his bed or the common room, she would look for him on the stolen Maurauders Map.

When the clock said 11, she snuck downstairs, discovering Harry wasn't there.

She tiptoed upstairs and checked Harry's bed.

With a sinking feeling, she discovered he wasn't there.

She raced back downstairs, laid the map out on the table and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

A map of Hogwarts revealed itself to her, and feeling a strange sense of foreboding, threw the stolen Invisibilty Cloak over her.

She stepped out of the common room, checking that the coast was clear and set of towards the second floor, where Harry was hiding from Mrs. Norris who was prowling the hallway.

She ran down the nearest flight of stairs behind the tapestry on the other side of the school. This took her to the fourth floor.

Checking the map again, the coast was clear. The nearest teacher was on the third floor, Professor McGonagall.

Harry was still hiding from Mrs. Norris on the second floor.

She sprinted towards the nearest stairs, nearly losing the cloak, and nearly falling down the stairs, then tiptoed down the hallway.

There was an ominous glow in the distance, which must be McGonagall.

She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and crashed into a vase.

The crashing noise was probably heard by everybody on the entire floor, ghosts and humans alike. Hermione felt a sinking feeling realizing there was only one way out of this.

Professor McGonagall was on the scene in a flash, her nostrils flaring with suspicion.

Nearly Headless Nick floated to the scene as well.

"Nick, search all of the rooms for any students, I will patrol the hallways," McGonagall said.

Hermione was already tiptoeing back towards the stairs, paying very close attention to where she was going.

When she was safely back in the common room, she checked the map.

She didn't see Harry anywhere on it.

'Maybe he's in the Forbidden Forest,' she thought to herself.

She wandered back up to her bed, tucking the cloak and the map safely into her trunk.

She crawled into bed, thinking about the close encounter with McGonagall, and wondering where Harry could have gone.

She was asleep within minutes, dreaming of being caught by various teachers, with Harry in the background disappearing.

She didn't like the sight of him leaving, it left an empty feeling inside.

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"Ron, have you seen my cloak or my map, I can't find them anywhere," Harry said feeling desperate.

He loved to look at it during his alone time, to make sure she was still there, in her bed every night.

"No I haven't, maybe you left them lay around someplace, mate," Ron said with a quizzical look.

Harry never loses his cloak or his map, they are his lifelines.

After an hour of searching everybody's trunks, they gave up, hoping they would turn up someplace.

They went down to breakfast, Harry was sick of listening about how hungry Ron was.

He was always hungry, always.

They joined Hermione near the middle of the table and Ron wasted no time loading up his plate with pancakes and kippers.

Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out the map and the invisibility cloak.

"You left them lay in the common room last night," Hermione said with a false stern look, "you really should take better care of your things."

Harry lightened up immediately, stashing the items in his bag.

"Thanks, Hermione. You know, you really are the best," Harry said with a grin.

"Don't let it happen again, I don't think you will be as lucky next time. What if a first year had found them?" Hermione said.

"He would be the luckiest midget ever, do you know how much he could get by selling those?" Ron said, obviously thinking of a life that didn't involve being poor.

"I would die, I need these," Harry said gesturing towards his bag.

"By the way, when is the next Quidditch practice?" Ron asked with anticipation.

"Oh, that reminds me," Harry said with a sinking feeling, "you are going to be the stand in captain, I need to gather myself before I can play Quidditch again. Plus, McGonagall won't let me play until I get my marks up."

"But who will take your place?" Ron asked, also with a sinking feeling.

"I was thinking Ginny could, and Demelza could take her place," Harry said.

"Ooh, yay! Now I have somebody to talk to other than Hagrid. I'm sick of hearing about Grawp," Hermione said lighting up.

Harry lit up inside too, finally some alone time with her.

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Ron was still feeling gloomy all morning, but lightened up a bit when he heard Pansy still had a pug nose.

"I can keep ripping on her then!" He said with a lopsided grin.

"Don't rip too hard or you'll tear her a new one," Harry said laughing, "I don't think anybody would like a moping Slytherin."

They were heading to the final class of the day. It was the day before the Quidditch match.

The school was brimming with excitement. The Gryffindors were breaking into chants of 'Weasley is our King' so much that Filch tried to get it banned again.

"Too bad he doesn't have Umbridge anymore," Harry said, "I think he had fallen in love with her. It's kind of hard to believe.

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Ron had peaceful dreams of Gryffindor winning 1000-0, Harry on the other hand wasn't in his bed.

He was in his hideout.

Hermione was pondering on how to approach the problem at hand during the Quidditch match tomorrow.

This had to be done, she had to do it. Even if it makes her feel worse than she did when she was away from him for the entire summer.

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AN: Once again, I LOVE REVIEWS! And any ideas you have are appreciated, you will get mentioned of course!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Please forgive me, when I write authors notes, it appears twice for some reason

AN: Please forgive me, when I write authors notes, it appears twice for some reason. Thank you to my good friend XxBanditQueenxX for the review. I loved A Trip to America by your former self, thesongremainsthesame.

Once again, I probably shouldn't have rated this M, and am changing it to T after this chapter. IT MIGHT GET CHANGED BACK LATER!

Disclaimer: Annoyingly enough, I DON'T OWN HP!

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"And it's 80-50, Gryffindor!"

The loud voice of Seamus echoed around the grounds.

"This is weird, I should be out there," Harry said, thinking of his Firebolt waiting for him back in his dormitory.

"I know Harry, but you're obviously preoccupied. Speaking of which, where do you go at night?" Hermione asked awkwardly.

"It's none of your business," Harry said desperately wanting to tell her.

"Harry if you don't tell me I am going to McGonagall," she said sternly.

"I know you Hermione, you wouldn't do that," Harry said reassuring himself.

"I'm worried about you though," she said, "you seem more withdrawn now than ever. You aren't even enjoying Quidditch anymore."

"I do enjoy Quidditch, but I'm not in the right mindset to play," Harry said thinking of last nights excursion.

"Harry you--,"

But Harry didn't hear what he was, Ginny had just caught the snitch and won them the game 230-160.

There were loud cheers, and Seamus was announcing the final score to the crowd, making it impossible to talk to one another.

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Hermione would steal back the map and the cloak. That was it.

'It was a mistake giving it back to him,' Hermione thought to herself, kicking herself mentally.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting alone around the fire. For some reason, the fire made them feel gloomy.

There was a party going on behind them, but they refused to join in, even after Ginny begged them to have a butterbeer.

Harry was finally doing his work, he was writing a footlong extra credit essay for Slughorn, about the potion he encountered with Dumbledore in the cave last year.

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'The Essence of Marklar"(AN: I had problems thinking of a name, was it named in the book at all? Marklar is from South Park so I decided to refer to that. Bear with me.)

Ingredients:

6 oz. Unicorn Blood

1 lb Powdered Bicorn Horn

1 Bezoar

14 oz. Water

5 oz. Pixie Fecal Matter

Uses:

In the early years, Essence of Marklar was used a torturing method for anybody who used an Unforgivable Curse. This was banned in 1478, when Azkaban was built, and the dementors were first employed to guard the prison. Azkaban was deemed more humane that Marklar.

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Harry was stuck, he had a horrible case of writer's block, and he needed to get away for a while.

"I'm going to bed," Harry announced.

"Okay, see you tomorrow," Hermione said with a smile that made Harry's insides drop.

"G'night, mate," Ron said looking up from his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay.

Harry went upstairs to retrieve his cloak and map.

He was going to his hideout again tonight.

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Hermione looked at Ron with a smug smile, and showed him the cloak and the map.

"He's not going anywhere without me, I'm going to follow him," she said cozily, the fire making her feel better.

"Are you going to follow him tonight?" Ron asked.

"Yep, and I'm wearing the invisibility cloak, so he won't know I'm there," she said, feeling smarter than usual.

"You better think fast, Harry just went out the portrait hole," Ron said trying not to laugh.

Hermione jumped up, and raced towards the portrait hole.

She stepped out, threw the cloak over her, and closed the portrait.

She looked at the map and Harry was already at the stairway.

After checking that the coast was clear, she raced to the stairway, gaining on Harry the entire way.

When she got to the first floor, she caught Harry, peering around a corner cautiously.

She walked up behind him and watched silently.

Harry proceeded up the corridor, ready to hide behind anything he possibly could.

Eventually they reached the entrance hall, and Harry raced through the door leading to the dungeons,

He was too fast for Hermione, so she stopped and looked at the map to see where he had gone.

He had already disappeared from the map.

'Maybe there is another Room of Requirement down here that nobody knows about," she thought to herself, feeling sulky again.

She headed back upstairs, pondering what had just happened.

At the fourth floor, when the secret staircase came into view, so did Peeves. He was dumping paint on all of the walls.

Hermione was trying to inch past him along the walls without making a noise, but it was no use. Peeves had thrown paint on her, which covered the cloak, meaning she was no longer invisible.

Peeves looked at the spot for a moment before yelling, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED, STUDENTS OUT OF BED NEAR THE STAIRCASE ON THE FOURTH FLOOR!"

Hermione raced up the staircase, and got to the top on the seventh floor.

She rounded the corner, seeing the portrait, and feeling like she was in the clear, raced towards it.

As she neared it, a figure came around the corner, saw the dark figure, and muttered, "_Petrificus Totalus_"

Hermione was completely paralyzed and toppled backward.

The cloak flew off of her and she looked up to see the caster.

It was Professor McGonagall.

She muttered the counter-curse and pulled Hermione up by the arm.

"What are you doing out this late Granger?" McGonagall asked sternly.

"I was patrolling the corridors, I am a prefect, right?" Hermione asked, hoping this would get her out of it.

"That doesn't give you the right to wander the halls at night, that is the teachers job," McGonagall said with a disappointed tone in her voice, "you knew this rule, meaning you must be punished for your actions. I feel that a weeks detention will be in order. Every night, starting tomorrow, in my office Granger. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, losing all hope.

"Now get back to your dormitory, and no detours!" McGonagall said with her usual stern voice.

Hermione walked to the portrait feeling McGonagall's eyes watching her every move.

"Wait, Granger you forgot your cloak," McGonagall said, "it has paint on it, let me clean it for you, _Scourgify_, here you are Ms. Granger."

Hermione retrieved the cloak, and went through the portrait hole and into the common room.

Ron was waiting for her asleep, on the chair nearest the fire. It was just getting into December, and there was snow falling out the window, making the common room feel colder than usual.

When Hermione sat down next to him he sat up.

"Did you find where he was going?" Ron asked groggily.

"Sort of, he's going down to the dungeons, there must be a secret room down there or something, because when he gets there, he disappears on the map." Hermione said disappointed while warming her hand by the fire.

"Is that all?" he asked, Hermione nodded, "I'm going to bed then, g'night."

"G'night," Hermione replied.

And Ron went upstairs, leaving Hermione alone with her thoughts, and some sixth years getting drunk off of firewhiskey.

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AN: Another chapter done, all in less than 24 hours! I might have time for a fourth and maybe a fifth tonight but I am taking a break. Please review, IDEAS ARE WELCOME!


	4. Chapter 4

AN: IF I REPEATS AGAIN I'LL BE PISSED OFF

AN: IF I REPEATS AGAIN I'LL BE PISSED OFF! Thanks to Keelycal for the review, it makes me feel good about myself to get reviews from you guys, even if its bad.

Disclaimer: I don't, I just don't. Sorry guys, I don't own this stuff, so I can't make money. _Sniff _I no make money _sniff_

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The next few days were depressing for Hermione, these were her first detentions ever.

McGonagall had her writing lines. At least it wasn't with the quill that writes with the writers' blood, like Harry had to do with Umbridge.

That was really brave of him to keep all of his pain inside, maybe that's what he's doing now. Bottling up all of his emotions. Maybe this is why he's losing focus.

Hermione was getting desperate, she was weighing all of her options.

She could tell McGonagall, and Harry could be serving detentions with her. That would cheer her up immensely. Or she could try following Harry again. It seemed that the easy choice was…

"Professor, I need to tell you something," Hermione blurted out, halfway through one of her detentions. Her fourth, by her count.

"Yes Ms. Granger?" McGonagall said with an air in her voice that said very clearly, this had better be important.

"I know somebody else who is sneaking around at night," she said, almost regretting the pain she was about to cause Harry.

"Who Ms. Granger, give me names!" she said with her usual stern look.

"It's… it's Harry Professor, hes been sneaking out every night since the beginning of the year," she finished lamely.

A shocked look was replaced by the stern look she was so very used to.

"Isn't Mr. Potter your friend? Why would you tell me this?" she asked rather quickly.

"I'm worried about him Professor, he hasn't been doing his work, participating in Quidditch… I don't know whats happening to him," she said looking serious.

"About what time does he usually leave at night?" she asked quickly.

"Around 11," Hermione said, "what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to catch him, and he's going to be serving the last three detentions with you," she said, "Also, ten points to Gryffindor," she added with a smile, "I know how hard it must have been to tell me this Ms. Granger."

Professor McGonagall let Hermione leave detention fifteen minutes early, so she quickly proceeded to the common room.

She hoped Harry wouldn't hate her after this.

Life would be miserable if Harry hated her, she wouldn't be able to bear it.

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Harry excused himself to go to the bathroom.

"Harry," Hermione called, "I don't think you should go out tonight. What if you get caught?"

"I won't," Harry replied.

As he said this he opened the portrait and stepped outside.

As soon as he closed the portrait he heard an all too familiar voice from behind him.

"Going somewhere, Mr. Potter?"

It was McGonagall, Hermione must have told her.

Harry was so angry with Hermione he felt like running into the common room and hexing her. But his anger subsided quickly. It was hard to stay mad at Hermione.

"Let's skip the boring parts, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said in a bored voice, "Three detentions, starting tomorrow. Have a good night Mr. Potter, and don't let me catch you out late at night again."

Harry couldn't even defend himself, he just stood there watching McGonagall walk away.

He realized this meant no more hideout for a while.

Hermione got what she wanted. Always, almost always anyway, the exception was walking sulkily up to the dormitory, without glancing back.

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The next night Harry and Hermione were writing lines.

Harry wasn't talking to Hermione, which hurt him just as much as it hurt her.

At 9, McGonagall let them go, and they proceeded to the common room.

"Why did you have to do that Hermione?" Harry asked.

They stopped in front of the portrait.

"I was worried Harry, I don't like it when you're on your own, when you could be with Ron and I," Hermione said, with as much care as possible.

"Still, how is giving me detentions going to help?"

"I don't know Harry, but at least you won't be going out anymore," she said.

A strange grin appeared on Harry's face.

"Who said that?" he said mischievously.

And at that, Harry walked into the common room and up to the dormitory.

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December rolled along quickly, as did January.

In February, Hermione received a valentine from a secret admirer.

She wished she knew who it came from, then she could thank them. Hermione was raised to thank anybody who gave her a gift, no matter how small.

In March, they threw Ron a party it was his eighteenth.

Things basically remained normal until May.

Harry had rejoined the Quidditch team. He was back on his top form. They had thrashed Ravenclaw 460-110, and set a school record for most points against Slytherin, 1940-10.

Harry had let the snitch go many times, just to run up the score, and Ron let in the lone goal on purpose because he felt so sorry for them.

Harry decided he could risk going back, but Hermione was ready this time.

When Harry excused himself to leave Hermione hopped up, and followed him, throwing the cloak on as she went.

She always kept the cloak with her, she could now see why Harry was so attached to it.

She beat him down to the dungeons, and saw him turn down the corridor.

Harry stopped, so did she.

Harry muttered something she couldn't hear to the wall, then he walked through it.

Hermione tried to follow but couldn't.

Disappointed, Hermione left the cold, dingy dungeon and raced back to the common room.

There she told Ron what she had discovered.

"There is a secret passageway in the wall in one of the upper dungeon corridors," she told him.

Ron looked interested, "I've never heard of that one before, but maybe Fred and George have. I'll write to them."

"Great! Ask if they know the password too!" Hermione added feeling excited.

Ron pulled out some parchment, a quill, and some ink.

_**Dear Fred and George,**_

_**Hermione and I need to know about a secret passageway in the upper corridor of the dungeons. Where is it, and what is the password. Please respond as quickly as possible as this is urgent.**_

_**Ron**_

Ron checked over the letter he had just scribbled, hoping they would be able to read it.

He sealed the letter, grabbed Pig, and threw him out the window.

He watched Pig zoom through the night sky, southward, towards London.

Ron couldn't help but feel lonelier now that Pig was gone.

Harry was never around anymore.

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AN: I'll try to finish the story by tomorrow, otherwise I won't be updating for at least three weeks. Please R/R REVIEWS ARE FUN!!


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I'll make this short so it wont repeat, thank you for adding me to the favorite authors list

AN: I'll make this short so it wont repeat, thank you for adding me to the favorite authors list. YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

Disclaimer: Harry PotterNot mine

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The next few days passed by slowly.

For Ron, they were miserable. He didn't even have Pig to talk to.

Hermione was feeling anxious, she knew as soon as that reply came she would be able to catch Harry, after a year of waiting.

Harry was clueless. He thought Hermione had given up on following him.

She had, for the time being. The only time she saw him was at mealtimes and classes. They almost never talked anymore.

Ron and Hermione were sitting at a table, finishing their Charms homework.

Hermione had just finisher hers, Ron was trying to copy, which led to a slap in the back of the head.

"Ouch, Hermione that hurts!" Ron said.

"Maybe if you wrote your own essays, I wouldn't have to hit you," she said, packing up her things.

"Hermione, how do you expect me to learn this in time for our NEWT's next week?" Ron asked, rubbing his head.

"Maybe if you paid attention in class, instead of sleeping, you would learn a thing or two!" Hermione said with a tone of finality.

But Ron wasn't done arguing yet.

"It's hard for me to sleep at night," he said with some reluctance, "Harry is never there anymore, we used to play chess before bed. It would help me sleep."

"I could play chess with you," Hermione said.

"Yeah, you could, but you're nowhere near as good as me and Harry," he said smiling.

This earned him another slap on the head.

"Ouch, quit doing that!" Ron said rubbing what was now a lump on the back of his head.

They bickered the rest of the night until they went to bed around midnight.

They were bickering so loudly, they didn't hear the tapping from the window.

Pig was outside, with Fred and George's reply.

Seeing that Ron was no longer there, Pig flew off to the owlery.

What else could he do?

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Pig didn't return to find Ron. He was too tired from the long journey to London that all he did was eat and sleep.

Ron had taken to waiting by the window in the common room. He studied while doing this, hoping to learn something in time for his first NEWT tomorrow.

It was the Defense Against the Dark Arts written exam, followed by the practical exam in the afternoon.

He was getting to the fourth chapter of _So You Want to Defend Yourself Against the Dark Arts? _by Alec Newton, a retired Auror.

He was practicing the arm-locking curse, when he looked up hoping to see Pig, he would only see the long stretch of sky, and the mountains.

Thinking of calling it a night, he headed up to the dormitory without saying goodnight to Hermione.

Hermione watched him go and took his seat near the window.

She watched for Pig, and after a half hour of waiting she felt like going to bed too.

As she was getting up a small speck appeared out of the owlery.

It was Pig. He was booking it towards the window, as fast as possible.

Hermione opened the window, just before Pig hit it.

Pig flew into the common room and dropped the letter on the table, then returned to the owlery, with a faint, tired hoot.

Hermione opened the letter and read:

_**Dear Ron,**_

_**I would advise not sending Pig to London anymore. He is not made to fly that big of a journey. It took him a week to even be able to fly again. Anyway, the passageway you are referring to leads to a secret room of requirement, like the one we used for DA meetings, but a lot more secret. If you say the password to the stretch of wall past the third torch on the right hand side of the corridor, it will open and there will be an extremely long hallway leading to the room. The room is located under the lake, which makes it cold and damp. We don't recommend using it. The password is 'Procrastination', have fun, and make sure to leave a mess for Filch to clean up, from us!**_

Fred and George

Hermione read the letter again, making a mental note of the password. It would have to wait until next weekend, NEWT's were too important.

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They were in the Great Hall, the tables had turned into desks, and the scratching of quills was prevalent to the chirping of birds outside.

Harry looked at the remaining questions.

What is a mountain trolls weakness?

What can kill a werewolf?

What is the incantation for the first Unforgivable Curse?

What is the incantation for the second Unforgivable Curse?

What is the incantation for the third Unforgivable Curse?

What is the incantation for the shield charm?

What is the incantation for the stunning curse?

These were easy, and Harry answered them with ease. He was the first one done, and he looked around.

Ron was sleeping, his exam only half done. Harry sent a sneezing curse his way, unseen by the supervisors.

Ron woke up instantly and sneezed…right into Parvati's hair.

The entire hall erupted into laughter, and it took a full five minutes to restore peace.

Harry returned to looking around, his eyes fell on Hermione, six seats ahead of him and one row to the right, scribbling violently.

Harry found himself staring at her for the next few minutes until the bell rang and they all left.

Harry felt relieved, this nightmare was almost over.

He didn't know where he was supposed to go, he thought of staying at the burrow, but Ron had not been himself lately.

Harry felt partially responsible for this, he wasn't around.

His nights had been the same the entire year, spent alone, looking at a picture of her the entire year.

But only he would know this, and no one else.

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The rest of the week passed as normal as could be, Harry felt like he did okay, not as good as he could have though.

Ron was willing to bet Hermione received top marks, but Hermione wasn't so sure. She was as preoccupied as Harry.

She was going to the secret passageway tonight, nobody would stop her.

At midnight, she threw the invisibility cloak over her, and proceeded to the dungeons.

She found the stretch of wall explained in the letter, and muttered the password to it.

"Procrastination," she whispered.

The passageway opened leaving a long, dark hallway, where the wall used to be, she walked into it and the door turned back into a wall behind her.

She proceeded quietly down the hall, to the end…

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Ron was sitting alone in the dormitory, he felt horrible, he couldn't sleep…

He felt like he would never be able to either.

What was he going to do?

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Hermione opened the door, thinking of seeing an extravagant, elegant room, only to find a small room, with stone walls, one chair, with Harry in it, and a picture frame.

Harry was staring at it, one tear falling down his cheek.

Hermione crept up behind him to look at the picture, expecting to see Sirius, Dumbledore, or his parents.

But it wasn't….it was her, smiling and waving at Harry.

"Oh my god," Hermione whispered.

Harry turned around quickly, and Hermione pulled off the cloak.

Harry felt embarrassed straight away.

He tried to hide the picture from view but the damage was done.

He expected her to run, to never talk to her again.

But she stayed right there, looking confused.

Several seconds passed by, with nothing happening, they were just staring at each other.

Then Hermione leaned in and kissed him. Without any warning, which took Harry by surprise, but kissed her back as soon as the surprise faded away.

"One week left, and it finally happens," Hermione said, laughing.

She was starting to feel dizzy, this happened too fast.

Harry helped her back to the common room, and showed her to the stairs.

They would resume this "talk" tomorrow.

Harry went up to his bed, for the first time in months.

He finally felt normal again.

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AN: I know it happened fast, but I am thinking of an alternate ending as well. Probably in a few weeks. Review please. Alternate ending coming soon!


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